Product Information

Publisher's Description

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At any given time there are thousands of churches seeking a lead pastor. While a great resume, a friendly smile and a memorable sermon will convince many, what should local congregations focus on to find a new shepherd? Chris Brauns believes to find a great preacher the search must focus on God's Word and how the candidate relates to it and preaches from it.

This book is a must have resource for search committees and church leaders addressing the needs of churches in the transition of pastoral leadership. It assists by approaching their responsibilities in a biblical way and providing critical help in key practical matters. From the initial formation of a search committee to the final terms of agreement with the new pastor, Brauns shows you how to "major on the majors" and away from subjective approaches of evaluating candidates and their sermons. Great also for pastors or pastoral students to know how to prepare, the book includes such practical tools as interview questions for candidates and the top mistakes search committees make.

Author Bio

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CHRIS BRAUNS is the Senior Pastor at the Congregational Christian Church of Stillman Valley, IL. Chris left the corporate world in 1990 and graduated from Grand Rapids Theological Seminary in 1993 with a Master of Divinity degree. Since then he has served as a youth pastor, senior pastor, and church planting pastor. In 2006, Chris received a Doctor of Ministry degree from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary having completed the preaching track under Haddon Robinson. Chris is the author of Unpacking Forgiveness: Biblical Answers for Complex Questions and Deep Wounds.

We recently began searching for a new minister and none of our leadership had ever been through the process before. This book has been invaluable to us in selecting a search team and starting the process. Highly recommend to any church who is seeking guidance and direction on the right way to find staff.

Ever wondered what would happened if a Pastor Search Committee uses the Bible to guide them as they seek a new Pastor for their church? Chris Brauns answers that question in his book, When The Word Leads Your Pastoral Search. Brauns uses the Bereans from Acts 17, who were very Word-centered, as an illustration to show his readers that being searching the scriptures is a great way to search for a new Pastor. A lot of times Pastors are searched based on what the church wants without giving any thought to the Bible.

Brauns even went into the difference between expository and topical preaching, which a lot of people in the church still do not know the difference, using a topical sermon called "The Miracle of Moms". He talked about what to look for in a Pastor based on 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1. The last couple of chapters in the book is on how to do the interview with candidates and suggested interview questions.

This book was unique because not many people want to read a book on conducting a Pastoral search unless you are actually in the middle of a search. This was a great read and recommend it to pastors to read it themselves and give their church a copy when or if he leaves that church.

This book is an excellent resource for every pastoral search committee. Too many search committees focus on the minors of a pastoral candidate and do not focus on the major and critical issues of preaching and pastoral ministry. Brauns has provided an excellent resource to help search committees focus on what matters the most in finding the right pastor.

I highly recommend this book. Every pastor and every church should have this resource in their library. Nothing is more important than finding a pastor as there is no higher calling than to preach the Word of God. Brauns helps readers understand the importance of this.